The present invention is directed to a heating/evaporating system and method of heating/evaporating a liquid. The invention is also directed to a method of reducing microbes in a liquid.
Traditional electrical resistance heating systems heat and/or evaporate a liquid by generating heat within an electrical resistance element, which heat is transferred to a liquid to either heat the liquid or evaporate the liquid. Because heat is generated by the device, per se, the remainder of the components of the system, such as the housing, or the like, is traditionally made from a metal, Bakelite, or the like. When used to heat water in a hot tub or swimming pool, additional devices are required in order to destroy microbes in the water, traditionally by chemical treatment of the microbes. Because of the heat generated by the resistance heater, difficulties may arise should the supply of liquid be interrupted. This could result in an overheating of the heater element, thereby requiring thermal overload protection. Also, the heat being generated by the resistance heater creates potentially explosive liquids, such as gasoline, or the like.